Anti-abortion voters look for one of their own

WASHINGTON (AP) — Invoking fiery references to Satan, "savagery" and a "culture of death" to criticize their opponents, anti-abortion lawmakers on Wednesday insisted that Republican contenders keep an intense focus on social issues in the upcoming midterm elections and the 2016 presidential race.

Like many abortion opponents, the Susan B. Anthony List is in search of a White House contender who won't shy from social issues after back-to-back presidential nominees in 2008 and 2012 who focused their campaigns on the economy and came up short. Several potential 2016 candidates were making their pitches in blunt terms, urging the group members to stick to their principles and fight those who would stand in their way.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said those who support abortion rights favor a "culture of death" and engage in "savagery."

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks at the Susan B. Anthony List "Campaign for Life Gala and Summit", a gathering of anti-abortion advocates, in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Looking to aid political candidates who share their views, anti-abortion activists are auditioning potential 2016 presidential contenders like Cruz. Like many evangelicals, the Susan B. Anthony List is in search of an anti-abortion crusader who has a shot at winning the Republican nomination in 2016 after back-to-back presidential nominees that left the socially conservative wing of the GOP ambivalent at best.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who is a favorite of the tea party, reminded the crowd of activists that supporters of abortion rights chanted "Hail, Satan" to silence their enemies during a heated protest at the Texas Capitol.

And former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who ran for president in 2008 and is considering a 2016 campaign, said conservatives must work to "save every life that we can save."

In the 2014 campaign for the Senate, Republican hopeful Greg Brannon of North Carolina stood by his previous claims that pro-abortion rights groups contemplate infanticide. Brannon, an obstetrician backed by several tea party groups, said that killing babies who survived abortions could happen in America, according to a video posted by Mother Jones magazine.

The unflinching rhetoric comes as the potential 2016 presidential contenders attempt to make inroads with the GOP's socially conservative wing. That bloc — which enjoys outsized influence in deciding the nominee — is open to many of the potential White House candidates but has yet to rally behind one of them.

In a Washington Post-ABC News poll published this month, 50 percent of conservative Republicans and 46 percent of white evangelical Protestants said they would consider voting for Cruz. Huckabee drew potential support among 50 percent of conservatives and 44 percent of evangelicals.

Other candidates who did not speak to the abortion summit fared about as well. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, hardly a social warrior, drew potential consideration of 45 percent of conservative Republicans and 40 percent of evangelicals. And Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., would be considered by 52 percent of conservative Republicans and 43 percent of evangelicals.

The key for these voters is backing a 2016 candidate who opposes abortion.

"One of the biggest prizes in 2016 will be who picks the next Supreme Court judges," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to win the White House in 2016, undo Obamacare, put America on a different path and have a president who defends little babies?"

But Graham acknowledged it will be tough.

"We are having problems growing the Republican Party in a demographically changing America," Graham said.

Keeping quiet on abortion won't help the GOP, he said.

"We're going to win this argument but it's going to take some time," he said.

Huckabee, who drew support from social conservatives during his 2008 White House bid, said he wants Republicans to win, but not if that means compromising their values.

"Whether it's politically expedient or not is of no consequence to me," Huckabee said. "If we get this issue wrong, we will get all the other issues wrong."

The political debate over abortion shows no signs of being resolved, more than 40 years after the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in the case of Roe vs. Wade. Young people today are somewhat more conservative on the issue than middle-aged Americans but the nation is split on the deeply personal issue.

To help candidates who oppose abortion, Susan B. Anthony List's super PAC plans to spend around $10 million this election.

Abortion rights supporters, Cruz argued, are ruthless and won't be easy to sway.

Cruz said that at the rally outside the Texas Capitol, abortion rights protesters walked "arm-in-arm, chanting 'Hail, Satan,' embracing the right to take the life of a late-term child."

He was referencing protests in Austin, Texas, last year over an abortion bill. While anti-abortion activists were giving speeches and singing "Amazing Grace," others tried to drown them out with chants.

During a separate appearance, Sen. Deb Fischer, a first-term Republican from Nebraska, told the activists: "Abortion is not a women's issue. It is not a men's issue. It is not a health care issue. It is a violence issue."

Such divisiveness over social issues has at times cost the GOP at the ballot box.

In 2012's Senate race in Missouri, Republican candidate Todd Akin was asked about access to abortion in the case of rape. He said such pregnancies are "really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

In Indiana, GOP candidate Richard Mourdock said "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

Those comments crippled their campaigns. Both lost.

North Carolina might offer a sequel, where Brannon is part of a crowded GOP primary to pick a candidate to face Sen. Kay Hagan, the incumbent Democrat.

Brannon campaign spokesman Reilly O'Neal on Wednesday said the candidate was alluding to 2013 Florida legislative testimony by a Planned Parenthood lobbyist. Legislators there were discussing a bill that would grant an infant "born alive during or immediately after" an attempted abortion the "same rights, powers and privileges as any other child born alive in the course of natural birth." The bill became law.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. speaks at the Susan B. Anthony List "Campaign for Life Gala and Summit", a gathering of anti-abortion advocates, in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Looking to aid political candidates who share their views, anti-abortion activists are auditioning potential 2016 presidential contenders. Like many evangelicals, the Susan B. Anthony List is in search of an anti-abortion crusader who has a shot at winning the Republican nomination in 2016 after back-to-back presidential nominees that left the socially conservative wing of the GOP ambivalent at best.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, has a word with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, after Cruz spoke at the Susan B. Anthony List "Campaign for Life Gala and Summit", a gathering of anti-abortion advocates, in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Looking to aid political candidates who share their views, anti-abortion activists are auditioning potential 2016 presidential contenders. Like many evangelicals, the Susan B. Anthony List is in search of an anti-abortion crusader who has a shot at winning the Republican nomination in 2016 after back-to-back presidential nominees that left the socially conservative wing of the GOP ambivalent at best.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks at the Susan B. Anthony List "Campaign for Life Gala and Summit", a gathering of anti-abortion advocates, in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Looking to aid political candidates who share their views, anti-abortion activists are auditioning potential 2016 presidential contenders. Like many evangelicals, the Susan B. Anthony List is in search of an anti-abortion crusader who has a shot at winning the Republican nomination in 2016 after back-to-back presidential nominees that left the socially conservative wing of the GOP ambivalent at best. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)